APC Powerplant

Distributed with permission of author(s) by ISA 2011
Presented at the 2011 ISA POWID Symposium; http://www.isa.org

Requirements for Successfully Implementing
and Sustaining Advanced Control Applications

Authors
Jacques F. Smuts
1
, Aaron Hussey
2

1
OptiControls Inc, League City, Texas
2
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Charlotte, North Carolina

Keywords
Advanced Control Applications, Sequential Automation, Control Loop
Performance Monitoring and Tuning, Advanced Process Control

Abstract
The power generation industry has been slow in adopting certain advanced control applications
like sequential automation, control loop performance monitoring and tuning, and advanced
process control. Economic justification for advanced control projects has been reported as being
the main barrier to entry, while a perception that these technologies are not yet proven in the
power industry, and the requirement for highly skilled personnel, also restricts adoption. This
paper presents the results of a survey that was conducted to identify the barriers to implementing
advanced control applications, and the requirements for implementing and sustaining these
applications. End users in the power industry were surveyed through an online tool and detailed
experiences were gathered through telephone interviews and a broad literature review. Results of
the survey, interviews, and literature review are documented in this paper, and recommendations
are made for successfully implementing and sustaining advanced control applications in the
power industry.

Introduction
It has been observed that the power industry is not taking advantage of new and advanced control
technologies as much as other large industries like refining, chemical and oil & gas. The Electric
Power Research Institute (EPRI) has launched a research project to determine why the power
industry is not adopting these technologies as rapidly as others, and to provide justification and
guidelines for implementing such technologies. The research was focused specifically on three
fields of advanced control:

Sequential automation systems (i.e. the automation of startup and shutdown sequences)

Control loop performance monitoring (CLPM) and tuning software
Advanced process control (APC) systems, including model predictive control (MPC),
neural network control and expert system control.

The three fields will collectively be referred to as Advanced Control Applications (ACA) in this
paper.
The research comprised:
An Internet-based survey to test the level at which power producers have implemented
the three areas of ACA and what they found as barriers to implementation.
Phone interviews with power companies on their experiences with implementing ACA.
Interviews with technology vendors to obtain their perspective on challenges with- and
requirements for implementing ACA.
A survey of published case studies on the implementation of ACA.

Adoption of Advanced Process Control in Large Industries
ARC Advisory Group has published two reports [1, 2] on the sales volumes of distributed control
systems (DCS) and real-time process optimization and training (RPO) systems, respectively. The
two reports break down the sales of DCS and RPO by industrial sector. The results from the two
ARC studies show that within the four largest industrial markets (power, refining, chemical and
oil & gas) the power industry is spending the most on DCS upgrades and replacements, while it
spends the least on APC systems. The two studies combined confirm that the power industry is
lagging behind the other major industries on adoption of APC.

Figure 1. Relative to DCS sales, the power industry lags behind other major industries in adopting APC.

Survey on Adoption of ACA in the Power Industry
A web-based survey was conducted to test the level at which power producers have implemented
the three components of ACA. A link to the survey was emailed to EPRIs I&C Interest List
with 667 contacts. 67 responses were received of which 60 were from the United States and 7
from outside the United States.
0
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3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
Power Chemical Oil & Gas Refining
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S
$

M
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2008 Worldwide DCS Sales
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Power Chemical Oil & Gas Refining
U
S
$

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2008 Worldwide APC Sales


The survey results, and especially those in Table 1 below, are not believed to be representative of
level of interest the power industry as a whole has in ACA. The survey was voluntary and was
titled EPRI Poll on Advanced Control Technologies. Therefore, it is expected that invitees
with no interest in advanced control would probably not have responded. The survey would be
more representative of sites that have a significant interest in ACA.

Key results from the survey are presented in Tables 1, 2 and 3 below. Table 1 indicates that
power producers find it reasonably easy to get sequential automation implemented (success-to-
fail ratio of 2.7:1), but difficult to get APC implemented (success-to-fail ratio of 0.45:1).
Controller Tuning and Assessment has a success-to-fail ratio of about 1:1.

Sequential
Automation
Loop
Assessment &
Tuning
APC
Successfully
implemented
40% (27) 37% (25) 15% (10)
Could not implement 15% (10) 35% (24) 32% (22)
Planning to implement 9% (6) 9% (6) 12% (8)
Table 1. Survey results on implementing the three ACA subgroups. Numbers in parentheses
indicate the number of participants who checked the option, percentages indicate numbers
as a percentage of all 67 participants.

Table 2 shows the barriers to ACA implementation, and it indicates that the major barrier is
economic justification. This topic will be discussed in detail later.

Responses
Not economically justified 37% (25)
No budget for advanced control projects 25% (17)
Sufficiently proven technology does not
exist
16% (11)
Shortage of adequately skilled personnel 21% (14)
Table 2. Barriers to implementing ACA.

Table 3 shows the correlation between ACA groups and barriers to implementation. The table
indicates that average sequential automation project has fewer barriers to implementation
compared to loop assessment and tuning software and APC.

It is interesting that the main barrier to implementing sequential automation seems to be a
shortage of skills. This is likely because sequential automation projects are relatively easy to
cost-justify (compared to loop assessment and tuning software, and APC), making its
implementation the biggest hurdle. As expected, technology is not a significant barrier for

sequential automation projects because most DCS come with sequential automation features
already built in.

Skills and cost justification were reported as the two main barriers for implementing loop
assessment and tuning software, but proven technology was also seen as a significant barrier.
Economic justification and technology are the main barriers for APC projects.

Table 3. Correlations between the three ACA types and various barriers to implementation.

Phone Interviews and Published Literature
The second phase of the research was to conduct phone interviews with survey participants who
agreed to participate in the follow-up survey. Twelve interviews were conducted, each interview
taking between 30 minutes and an hour. The last phase of the research was a comprehensive
literature search for case studies on the implementation of sequential automation, loop
assessment and tuning software, and APC. An interesting observation is that there are a
substantial number of papers on APC case studies, while the other two fields of ACA had very
few. The relevant findings gathered from all the research avenues were combined to make up the
remainder of this report.

Sequential Automation
Most industrial plants are complex to operate and require detailed written procedures for starting
up and shutting down the plant or major pieces of equipment. These procedures consist of a
series of operational steps that need to be followed in sequence. Each step must be completed
and a number of operating statuses such as the position of a valve or outlet temperature of a
heater must be checked to meet specified criteria before the next step may be executed. A
complete startup may consist of dozens of these steps.

Although sequential automation capabilities are available in the control systems of most power
plants, many use the bare minimum of sequential automation, relying mostly on the operators for
executing written procedures.

Automation Tuning /
Assessment
APC
Not economically justified 32% 56% 56%
No budget for advanced control projects 24% 53% 35%
Sufficiently proven technology does not exist 9% 45% 55%
Shortage of adequately skilled personnel 36% 57% 43%
Unable to Implement

A Note on Combined-Cycle Plants
Interviews and literature revealed that combined-cycle plants have implemented
automatic startup and shutdown sequencing to a far greater extent than other
power plant types. Coal-fired power plants do not generally cycle on and off
frequently. This lowers the need for incorporating an automated startup system
into them. In contrast, combined-cycle plants are good targets for implementing
automated startup systems due to their frequent cycling.

Barriers and Challenges
Several barriers and challenges make it difficult for power plants to implement
sequential automation. These are discussed below.

Novelty of Sequential Automation
Sequential automation is still a relatively unapplied technology for the power
industry (especially in the United Sates). Very little design guidance exists in
print and the benefits of automation systems are not well documented in the
industry.

DCS Capabilities and Tools
More than one plant reported limited capabilities of the sequential automation
functions built into the DCS and the associated design tools. Unlike add-on
software like APC, there is little incentive for DCS providers to improve the
capabilities of these tools.

Quality of Operating Procedures
It is possible that operating procedures could be outdated or lack sufficient detail to be used as a
basis for the design of the sequential automation.

Changing of Operating Procedures
If the plant is used to changing operating procedures frequently, the automation of such
procedures will make it significantly more difficult to change procedures.

Availability and Reliability of Field Instrumentation
Field instrumentation originally designed purely for indication purposes might be of inferior
quality, making them unsuitable for use as inputs to a sequential automation system. Also,
instrumentation might have fallen into disrepair through a lack of maintenance or years of
operation in hostile environments. Often, new instrumentation has to be added and hand-valves
have to be automated for the full implementation of sequential automation.

Start Lube Oil
Pump
Close Inlet
Damper
Start Fan
Pump running
Damper closed
End
Fan running
Figure 2. Sequential
automation diagram.

Increased Cost and Effort of Maintenance
Plants that have implemented automation on a large scale reported that they now need more
manpower to maintain the instrumentation that has become essential to the operation of the plant.

Vendor Promotion
Sequential automation is already available in the DCS, and except for selling low-margin
services, there is no incentive for DCS vendors to promote the implementation of sequential
automation.

Requirements for Success
A sequential automation system is in many ways similar to any automation system. However,
certain aspects of sequential automation projects are unique. These aspects and other
requirements for the long-term success of sequential automation systems are discussed below.

Resource Commitments for Duration of Project
The design effort of automating the start-up of a combined-cycle HRSG takes about one year,
while its implementation can take three to four months. Management has to commit to providing
the right resources to the sequential automation project. Competing projects should not rob the
automation project of its resources and the design and implementation must be a near-fulltime
activity to be efficient. It is also important to keep the same personnel throughout the project.
Replacing personnel mid-project will impose a significant learning curve on new personnel and
will likely introduce inefficiencies to the entire team.

On-site Champion
Because the plant can be operated without sequential automation, it is easy to give up on
automation should technical or other challenges arise. It is therefore very important to have a
resourceful and motivated person on site to be the project champion. The champion can carry the
project through difficult times and ensure its success.

Design Team
The design should be done by a team, not a single individual. The design team should consist at
minimum of an engineer intimately familiar with the process being automated, an experienced
plant operator, and a consultant or DCS engineer with detailed knowledge of the sequential
automation capabilities of the DCS. If possible, the team should be led by a multi-disciplinary
engineer familiar with the process and the DCSs capabilities, and have prior experience in
sequential automation. If the automation system has to interface with other processes and control
systems, subject matter experts of those systems should be part of the initial planning and
brought in to consult to the design team at relevant times throughout the design.

Design & Testing Tools
The design engineers should be trained in the capabilities of the sequential automation design
tools of the DCS, and work within this environment as much as possible. It is also useful to test
the sequential logic in a simulator for catching bugs and design errors.

Design Basis
Existing operating procedures should be used as the basis for the design. If the procedure is
incomplete, it should be updated to reflect all actions taken by an experienced operator while
executing the actual task on the real plant. The design should also make provisions for
differences in plant conditions, for example cold-start, warm-start, and hot-start could each have
a different operating procedure. Additional sequences must be implemented to achieve shutdown
[5]. The design should also provide for lead-lag preferences on redundant pieces of equipment.
Lee [6] provides a wealth of information on designing sequential automation.

Pre-work
Some field instrumentation will have to be replaced or at least repaired. In some cases hand-
valves have to be automated for the full implementation of sequential automation. It is also worth
noting that single-pushbutton startup is not possible without stable regulatory controls, especially
drum level controls [5]. Control loop problems have to be addressed before commissioning the
sequential automation.

Implementation Team
Depending on site staffing skills and availability, consideration should be given to contract the
DCS vendor or an experienced third-party to do the actual implementation.

Commissioning
Plant management might be pushing hard to get the plant back on line after an automation
project. This may prevent project personnel from fixing bugs in the automation sequences. If the
project team normally resides on site, this can be done when the next opportunity arises, but if
the project team goes off site, these issues may never be resolved. It is therefore important to get
all the problems fixed during the initial commissioning so that a fault-free and useful automation
system can be handed over to operations.

Maintenance of Instrumentation
Time, personnel, and financial resources must be made available for the upkeep of the system.
Similar to feedback controls, sequential automation relies heavily on feedback from field
instrumentation. Instruments providing equipment status feedback to sequential logic programs
should be maintained on a schedule to ensure they work when required.

Changes to Operating Procedures
Although the sequential logic itself does not require routine maintenance, operating procedures
do change and these changes then need to be made to the sequences too.

Operator Training
An undesired side-effect of automating operator procedures is that operators may forget how to
do the automated tasks manually. New operators may never learn how a plant startup sequence is
really done. It may be prudent to have operators periodically do plant startups manually, using
the automation system as a guide, to ensure they understand all the steps involved and will be
able to do it manually if it ever becomes necessary.

Control Loop Performance Monitoring and Tuning Software
The performance of a power plant is highly dependent on the performance of its control loops
[11]. A key requirement for good control loop performance is proper tuning of the controllers.
Although tuning can be done manually, commercially available software tools have greatly
simplified the tuning process. Software tools have also been developed for the assessment of
control loop performance and flagging of control loops that need attention. This section of the
report deals with these two types of software tools.

Figure 3. Loop performance assessment software indicating good performance in green and
poor performance in red.


Figure 4. Loop tuning software with various simulations.

Many barriers to implementing CLPM and tuning software exist, driving down the adoption rate
of these systems. A brief discussion of these barriers follows.

Competing with Human Skills
Plants often have a few old hands on staff that have been tuning loops for many years and do a
fine job without the need for any tuning software. It is likely that the old hands will be set in
their ways and reluctant to use new technology to do the same job.

Missing Essential Features
Power plant controls make extensive use of cascade and feedforward controls and most tuning
tools do not lend themselves very well to tuning these control strategies [8]. Many CLPM and
tuning software tools do not natively support these features making them less useful to the power
industry.

Advanced Skill-Set Requirements
Controller tuning software is very technical in nature and addresses a technically challenging
problem. But apart from the technical complexity, tuning software is in essence just a tool, and
like any tool it requires a skilled person to operate it. Unskilled users, who dont understand the
basics of process control and controller tuning, will very likely fail when trying to use tuning
software.

Difficulty in Cost J ustification
Although some tuning tools are available at a reasonable price ($5,000 and below), loop
performance assessment software costs several tens of thousands of dollars. Most companies
would require a solid cost justification to authorize spending this kind of money. No case studies
could be found on how controller tuning actually improved the bottom line of a power plant.

Step Testing Required
Tuning tools require at least one, but preferably several process step tests in which a controllers
output is given a step change by the operator [10]. Operators are not in favor of doing step tests
on processes because of the upsets they cause. Inexperienced operators may be completely
unwilling to do step tests.

Bad Experience with Software
Some first-time users of tuning software try it on the most difficult loop at their site. These loops
most often have problems not related to tuning, like control valve stiction or process
nonlinearities. The users then give up on the software when it cannot properly tune the loop, and
declare the software a failure.

Network Security Issues
Nuclear facilities have very strict requirements for connecting software to the control system
networks. This could make data collection from controllers at a nuclear plant so tedious that
engineers simply do the tuning using trial-and-error methods, and look at the process trend
displays for an indication of loop performance.

Competing Interests
Unless a loop performs so poorly that it upsets production, improving control performance is
often considered optional even if it is economically beneficial. Because it is optional, it will
almost always lose out to mandatory tasks.


Data Acquisition
Process data for loop analysis should be non-compressed and collected at a rate fast enough to
capture the loop dynamics. Data is best obtained through OPC (object linking and embedding for
process control). Careful consideration should be given to the rate at which loop performance
assessment software acquires data from the OPC server.

Application Tuning
After installation, controller performance assessment software does not know the exact function
or objective of any particular control loop in the process. The software uses many default settings
against which it compares actual loop performance. As a result, it might flag poor loop
performance on a loop that is behaving perfectly normally. Configuration parameters and
thresholds for loop performance assessment and diagnosis must be adjusted in the software to
improve the accuracy of loop performance assessment. This tuning of the system can take a
few days.

Verification of Software Results
Recommended tuning settings that are far different from those in the controller should be
verified. If the controller was not tuned properly to begin with, the new settings could be correct,
but verification and engineering judgment should be used. In any event, more than one step test
should be used during the tuning process, and tuning calculations from each step test should be
compared to the others.

Training
CLPM and tuning software are specialized applications. Software training (and process control
training if required) by the vendor or qualified third party is highly recommended. Software user
guides can be of inferior quality, and is probably good as a reference guide only.

Advanced Process Control
Power plants (and especially coal-fired boilers) have unique process control challenges that lend
themselves well to APC-type solutions. These include steam temperature control, throttle
pressure control, and combustion control. These processes are multivariate in nature and simple
PID controllers alone might be unable to keep the processes within limits during load transients
and other boiler disturbances.


Figure 5. User interface of a combustion optimization system (Courtesy: NeuCo).

Although APC technology may be ideal for solving boiler plant control problems, the adoption
rate among power companies has been very slow. This is attributable to several challenges the
power industry faces when considering the implementation of APC.

Complexity
APC technology and the software supporting it is quite complex and the power industry does not
have a wealth of experience with it. Plant engineers are unlikely to accept complex control
systems that they do not understand and that they often think the vendors do not completely
understand either [12].

Shortage of APC-Skilled Personnel
Power companies often would find implementation of APC very difficult, because the skill level
at sites are more geared towards maintaining the DCS, instrumentation, and control valves. Sites
do not normally have engineers who could implement or maintain APC applications.

Competing with Advanced Regulatory Controls (ARC)
The power industry has done much more with ARC (feedforward, cascade, and ratio control,
overrides, gain scheduling, characterization, etc.) than the other large industries. Designs have
evolved over time to improve control performance significantly over simple feedback control.

The incremental benefits of APC are therefore less than what it would have been without ARC.
Because of the reduced incremental benefits, it is more difficult to cost-justify APC.

Uncertain Returns
Refining and petrochemical industries, where APC has proliferated, frequently cost-justify APC
on two tangible benefits: increased production rate and improved product quality. In the power
industry, production rate is mechanically limited (and currently there is over-capacity), and
product quality doesnt apply. Therefore, APC has to provide other benefits to be of interest to
the power industry.

Penalties and Rewards for Load Response Not Passed Through
Plants within a fleet normally dont get paid for fast load response, so there is no incentive for
individual power plants to install APC and improve load ramp rate.

Implementation of Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)
During the 1990s and early 2000s, fossil power producers had a significant interest in APC for
combustion control to meet NO
X
regulations. As the regulations tightened and penalties
increased, most boilers were equipped with SCRs to lower emissions. SCRs lowered the NO
X

emissions so much that additional benefits from combustion optimization were diminished.

Increased Maintenance Cost
Field instrumentation previously used just for indication may become an essential measurement
in an APC design. Similarly, position control of burner tilts and dampers become much more
important when these are manipulated by the APC system. Consequently, to ensure optimal
operation of the APC system, the cost of maintaining its associated field instrumentation and
control elements will likely increase.

Fuel Costs Passed on to Customers
In regulated markets, where power plants dont compete on cost of production, there is no real
incentive to improve heat rate. Fuel costs (and savings) are passed on to customers and not to the
companys bottom line. In this environment corporate executives and plant managers should be
incentivized by the company to lower the cost of production.

EPRI [17] provides a comprehensive technical overview of the design, implementation, and
long-term support of an APC system. Below are a few items supplementing the information
presented in the mentioned EPRI report.

Vendor Involvement
APC technology and the software supporting it is quite complex and the power industry does not
have much experience with it. APC software suppliers, in contrast, have a wealth of experience
with their software, and have access to in-house or third-party consultants for implementing their
technology on power plants. It is advisable that the software vendor be intimately involved with
the design and installation of APC systems.

Preparatory Work
Few APC systems directly drive the final control elements (valves and dampers). Most APC
systems send set points or biases to regulatory feedback controls (PID control loops) [13]. It is
therefore important that the regulatory control level work very well before implementing APC.
APC vendors normally include a pre-test phase in an APC project for tuning controllers and
fixing control problems before the step testing for model building is done.

Dealing with Nonlinearities
For steam temperature control, multiple linear models would be required to deal with the
changes in process response between high and low loads. APC controllers support the bumpless
switching of process models. Plants with three models in their steam temperature controllers
reported that the performance was good throughout the load range. A test installation at one site
used a single model, and it was reported to be insufficient.

Commissioning and Tuning
When the APC system has been commissioned and is running online for the first time, it will be
placed in a predict-only mode in which predictions are made for the controlled variables and
new moves are calculated for the manipulated variables, but these are not actually implemented.
Some tuning will likely be required to tweak the sizes of the moves. The system will then be
placed in control mode and further tuning might be necessary to optimize its performance.

Risk Reduction
APC payments can be contractually structured to be based on performance of the system as
quantified savings or increases in profit. This takes the risk off the power company and ensures
that the APC provider is very diligent and possibly conservative with the up-front benefits
estimation. It also ensures that benefits are properly measured and quantified after completion of
the project.

Training
It goes without saying that the operators need to be trained on the new APC functionality.
Training is of utmost importance for operator acceptance and for them to be able to operate the
new system and navigate through the new operator graphics pages. They also need to understand
what the APC system is controlling, the inputs it uses and how its outputs are brought back into

the regulatory controls. Depending on the technical expertise of the engineering and maintenance
staff on site, they could be trained to perform various levels of maintenance activities. At
minimum they should be able to debug communications problems and get the system back on
line after a communications failure or computer reboot.

Maintenance
Major changes to plant equipment, like installing low-NO
X
burners or changing superheater heat
transfer surface area, will require a recalibration of some or all of the APC models. Capable
engineering staff might also identify additional feedforward inputs that can improve the
operation of the APC system. Additional process modeling will be required for this too. It is
recommended to establish a maintenance contract with the APC supplier for resolving issues that
lie beyond the capabilities of plant staff. Some APC vendors offer remote monitoring capabilities
for this purpose.

On-site Champion
Because the plant can run without the APC turned on, operators will likely turned it off if
problems arise. The system could remain off indefinitely unless the site has a champion who
takes care of the system in the long run by resolving issues as they come up, and calling in the
supplier to resolve larger issues when required.

Conclusion

The power generation industry has been slow in adopting certain advanced control applications
like sequential automation, control loop performance assessment and tuning, and advanced
process control. In the case of advanced process control systems, the power industry is investing
at only one quarter the rate of other comparably large process industries.

Implementation of sequential automation is being favored by combined cycle plants because of
the high rate of startups and shutdowns many of these plants are being subjected to. Justification
for sequential automation projects is mostly based on minimizing startup times and reducing the
chance of operator error. Project implementations are relatively straightforward since all
programming is done in the existing control system. In some cases field instrumentation needs to
be upgraded and hand operated valves automated. In the long term, scheduled maintenance on
valves and instrumentation is essential for sustaining the system. Any changes to written
operating procedures also need to be implemented in the control system.

The value of loop assessment and tuning software remains difficult to express in monetary terms.
Justification for implementing assessment software hinges on its ability to identify potentially
costly control problems, while tuning software can be justified on time savings and possibly on

the superior loop performance it provides compared to trial-and-error tuning methods. Loop
assessment and tuning software potentially make control engineers more effective by pointing
out loop problems to focus on, and providing tools to help fix those problems. Training in
process control and the software tools are required for success.

Early in the decade advanced process control systems were commonly justified as a low-cost
method for reducing NO
X
emissions through combustion optimization, while these systems
normally also reduced heat rate. Unfortunately, the NO
X
benefit has been diminished over the
last few years by the installation of selective catalytic reduction systems. While project
justification based on heat rate improvement is possible in many cases, this is not as attractive as
environmental compliance used to be, especially in regulated markets. To build a stronger case,
cost justifications for advanced process control should be based on a combination of benefits,
including heat rate reduction, improved ramp rate, improved reliability, and possibly a reduction
in NO
X
or ammonia usage.

The power industry remains short on experience in advanced process control systems, and power
producers should rely on the expertise of technology vendors or outside consultants to ensure the
proper selection of technology, appropriate designs, and smooth implementation of these
systems. Long term maintenance includes planned maintenance of all field instrumentation and
final control elements used by the system, updating process models after changing mechanical or
thermodynamic properties of equipment, software upgrades and server maintenance.

References

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[2] Real-time Process Optimization and Training Worldwide Outlook, ARC Advisory Group,
2009
[3] Natural Gas Navigator, U.S. Energy Information Administration,
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Southern Company, Birmingham, AL: 2007. 1013344
[5] S. Leibbrandt, W Thackston, Fully Automating HRSG Feedwater Pumps, Presented at
53rd ISA POWID Symposium, 6-11 June 2010, Summerlin, Nevada
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611 June 2010, Summerlin, Nevada
[7] Diagnostic/Troubleshooting Monitoring to Identify Damaging Cycle Chemistry or
Thermal Transients in Heat Recovery Steam Generator Pressure Parts, EPRI, Palo Alto,
California, March 2005. 1008088.
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Southern Company, Birmingham, AL: 2009. 1020370.

[9] Quantifying the Value of Improved Control System Performance, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA,
and Southern Company Services, Inc., Birmingham, AL: 2004. 1009844.
[10] Control System Tuning Assessment Guidelines, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2002. 1004425.
[11] Tuning Guidelines for Utility Fossil Plant Process Control. Volume 2, The Technician's
Guide to Tuning. EPRI , Palo Alto, CA: 1994. TR-102052.
[12] N. W. Rees and C. X. Lu, Some thoughts on the advanced control of electric power
plants, Transactions of the Institute of Measurement and Control 24,2 (2002) pp. 87106
[13] L. Gordon, D. Roberts, and D. Labbe, Optimizing Heat Rate with Model Predictive
Control on Riley Turbo-Furnace Units, Joint ISA POWID/EPRI Controls Conference,
2002
[14] Power Plant Optimization Guidelines, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 1998. TR-110718.
[15] D. Labbe, S. Coker, A. Speziale, Entergy Independence NOx/Heat Rate Optimization and
Steam Temperature Control with Neural Net/Model Predictive Control Combo, 48th
Annual ISA POWID Symposium, 2005
[16] S. Barnoski, D. Labbe, J. Graves, W. Poe, Coal Mill and Combustion Optimization on a
Once-Through, Supercritical Boiler with Multivariable Predictive Control, Joint ISA
POWID/EPRI Controls and Instrumentation Conference, 2004
[17] Application Guidelines for Advanced Control in Fossil Plants, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA:
1999. TR-114339.

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